Letters to the editor

I am writing in response to the question raised by Ron Spangler G in his
letter ["Why Is Registrar Slow?", Feb. 19]. He is absolutely right -- it
does take the Registrar's Office too long to provide a transcript at our
peak times of the year. While transcripts are usually produced in three to
five days, the wait can be around two weeks during parts of January,
February, and June. Unfortunately we are severely limited by an out-of-date
manual system that begins with a permanent record on paper for each
student; each term a sticker containing subject registration and grades is
applied by hand to the record. A transcript is then produced by
photocopying the oversize record on special paper, signing, and affixing
the MIT seal.

A significant number of the records and registration staff is involved in
this extremely time-consuming process, especially at this time of year when
we receive thousands of transcript requests for graduate school and
employment, for which permanent records need to be updated with fall and
IAP grades before the transcript can be produced. The transcript demand is
also heavy as a result of increase orders from alumni.

The good news is that the Registrar's Office and the other student-related
services at MIT are in the process of developing a new Student Information
System, to become operational late this year, that will include an
electronic method for producing transcripts on-line. This automated system
will make it possible for us to fill transcript requests for current
students in a fraction of the present time, as well as provide rush
service, once we have completely converted the current records by Spring
1994. Also, the appearance of the transcript will be greatly improved.

The beginnings of the new system are already visible via the Student
Information Service on Athena -- which provides students with electronic
access to their academic record and other academic information: viewing
grades, degree audit, and subject registration, as well as changing address
and phone information. It also permits browsing of public academic
information such as catalogue subject descriptions, class schedules, etc.
These services will continue to expand after the new system is in place,
and will include electronic preregistration during Fall 1994.

The new Student Information System will allow the Registrar's Office and
other student-related offices to better serve students, faculty, and
various administrative offices. A student advisory committee assisted with
planning the new system, but we continue to welcome your suggestions as we
finalize the specifications. In the meantime we sincerely acknowledge and
appreciate students' patience as the old system is gracefully retired.

David S. Wiley

Registrar

Students Should Vote to Protect Free Speech

We are writing to announce the formation of the Student Alliance for
Freedom of Expression. SAFE will work to protect freedom of speech and
freedom of expression on campus, and will monitor Institute policies to
ensure that they do not interfere with these rights. We invite interested
students, as well as faculty and staff, to join with us in pursuit of this
goal.

SAFE's first project is the passage of the Free Speech Initiative. On
Wednesday, March 10, on the Undergraduate Association ballot, three
referendum questions will appear:

1. Should MIT guarantee its students the same freedom of speech that
students have at public universities?

2. Should students have the freedom to express unpopular or controversial
views?

3. Should the MIT harassment policy, which currently restricts
constitutionally protected speech, be revised to provide protection for
freedom of speech?

We encourage students to go to the polls and vote yes on all three
questions. We have put these questions on the UA ballot because the
existing harassment policy violates freedom of speech. The policy punishes
speech on the basis of its alleged offensiveness, with penalties up to and
including expulsion. But many true ideas were considered offensive when
they first emerged. At a university devoted to pursuit of the truth, speech
should not be regulated simply because it is unpopular or controversial,
even gravely so. Currently, the administration is not convinced that
students value their freedom of speech. By voting for the initiative, you
can send a message to the administration that you do value your freedom of
speech, and that you want the policy to be improved to protect it.

We are concerned that the MIT policy may be illegal. Federal courts have
found similar policies at the Universities of Michigan and Wisconsin to be
unconstitutional. While MIT is a private institution, unlike Michigan and
Wisconsin, the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act extends freedom of speech
protections to students at private colleges. Revising the policy might help
MIT by saving it from being found guilty of violating students' civil
rights.